Saturday, December 31, 2011

As the year 2011 closes, homosexualists revel in their advancement of the Gay Agenda, thanks to President Obama and New York government, but they lament their inability to counteract "the fruits" of their perversion.

For many middle-aged gay men in New York City, the passage of the same-sex marriage law was in part a fresh reminder of the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic . . .

While some middle-aged gay men and lesbians leaped at the chance to marry after having been denied the right, others say the concept feels too foreign today because it was such a remote possibility for so long.

The men interviewed for this article may form an imbalanced picture of their generation because each has gone on to form long-term, meaningful romantic relationships — despite the loss of partners, and regardless of feelings about marrying. But, as therapists attest, there are silent others who remain haunted by the tragedies of the AIDS scourge, and unhealed by the passing years.

Dr. Steven Brigham, of Voorhees, N.J., was taken into custody Wednesday night and is being held in the Camden County jail, according to police in Elkton, Md. Authorities also arrested Dr. Nicola Riley in Salt Lake City and she is in jail in Utah. Each is awaiting an extradition hearing.

A search of [Brigham's Elkton] clinic . . . revealed a freezer with 35 late-term fetuses inside, including one believed to have been aborted at 36 weeks, authorities said.

Brigham, 55, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy. Riley, 46, faces one count each of first- and second-degree murder and one conspiracy count.

In the Elkton case, which police said forms the basis for most of the criminal charges filed this week, an 18-year-old woman from New Jersey suffered a ruptured uterus and other internal injuries during a procedure at the American Woman's Services clinic on East High Street in Elkton.

The physicians board found that the woman, who was 21 weeks pregnant, had initially been treated in Voorhees, N.J., where her cervix was dilated. The woman was then told to travel, in her own car, to Elkton so doctors could complete the procedure.

After the woman suffered a ruptured uterus, state officials said Riley put the patient in Brigham's rented Chevrolet Malibu and drove her Union Hospital in Elkton. The board said she sat in slumped in a wheelchair, nearly unconscious, outside the emergency room, while Riley argued with hospital staff, demanding their identities before treating the woman.

The woman was flown that day to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore for more treatment. State officials said Riley then returned to his clinic in Elkton to perform another abortion. The injured woman survived.

Although Maryland has suspended Riley’s medical license, she continues to have an active license to practice medicine in Utah.

But she can no longer perform abortions in Utah, under a February agreement with state licensing officials. And in August, she was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for misleading officials about her criminal background when she applied for a Utah medical license in 2004.

Brigham, who has never been licensed in Maryland, allegedly initiated abortions in New Jersey and Riley completed the procedures in Maryland.

The murder charges do not have an immediate impact on Riley’s medical license in Utah.

Brigham operated a secret late-term abortion clinic in Elkton, Maryland, even though he had no license to practice in that state. He hired Riley to do late-term abortions there and at his abortion clinic in Baltimore. Brigham would start the late-term abortions at his office in New Jersey, then caravan the laboring women to Elkton where the abortions would be completed. The clandestine abortion scheme was discovered after a woman suffered a life-threatening botched abortion in August, 2010. When police raided the Elkton abortion clinic, they discovered the remains of 35 aborted babies, one of which was 33 weeks gestation.

Responding to the news that abortionists Steven Brigham and Nicola Riley are being held in custody for the murders of viable babies, Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, stated:

“These two individuals are now where they belong and should be in jail for the rest of their lives. This case, as it progresses, is key for the American people to pay attention to, because it exposes the abortion industry for what it is. Abortionists have no respect for human life, much less for human laws. Even those who believe abortion should be legal can join with us to stop the out of control practices of people like Brigham and Riley. And the time is now.”

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Unreported by the mainstream media, in Tuesday's Presidential Pro-Life Forum organized by PersonhoodUSA, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum each stated unequivocally that if elected president they would take all actions possible to define unborn humans as "persons" from conception.

The amendment would have outlawed abortion even in cases of rape and incest, as well as embryonic stem-cell research.

Mitt Romney has ducked the issue, arguing that human life begins at conception but concluding that such decisions should be made at the state rather than federal level. Jon Huntsman has said the personhood movement “goes too far.”

Four GOP presidential candidates discussed their pro-life views with about 25,000 participants in a tele-town hall sponsored by Personhood USA that was also broadcast on a conservative talk radio show on Tuesday night.

All four had previously signed a "personhood" pledge distributed by Personhood USA, declaring they would pursue legislation to declare that life begins at fertilization, if elected president.

Bachmann was the only candidate to call out rivals for their inconsistency on the pro-life issue. Secure in her record and demonstrating an obvious grasp of the key words and issues pro-life voters care about, she discussed the importance of not relegating pro-lifers to the sidelines.

Santorum, well known for arguing the pro-life cause during his time in the Senate, also sought to convince voters of his bona fides.

The candidates took questions from some of the listeners as well as from Personhood USA's CEO Keith Mason, while syndicated conservative radio host Steve Deace served as moderator of the forum, which was broadcast on his program and 88 radio stations nationwide.

Personhood USA is best known as the group whose pledge requires that signors "defend all innocent human life," and reaffirm that "Abortion and the intentional killing of an innocent human being are always wrong and should be prohibited."

Personhood USA spokeswoman Jennifer Mason told The Huffington Post Tuesday that all seven candidates had been invited to participate.

[Each candidate was asked] what they would do in the event that the Supreme Court ruled Personhood legislation unconstitutional.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Orthodox rabbis, mental health professionals, and other leaders have jointly declared that homosexual behavior is prohibited and that so-called sexual orientation can be healed with proper therapy. The formal declaration was made in an effort to counter secular propaganda aimed at normalizing homosexual behavior.

"The concept that G-d created a human being who is unable to find happiness in a loving relationship unless he violates a biblical prohibition is neither plausible nor acceptable."-- Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality

A coalition of more than 150 Orthodox rabbis, community leaders, organizers and respected mental health professionals have given an historic stamp of approval to a document entitled a "Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality."

The treatment recommended in the statement is reparative or gender-affirming therapy . . .

The statement -- which goes out of its way to caution against castigation of the individual and notes "They deserve our full love, support and encouragement in their striving towards healing" -- is likely to be met with a storm of protest both in Israel and abroad.

The Declaration, written by a 25-member committee of rabbis, parents, "strugglers" currently in therapy and "success stories" -- those who completed therapy and today are living heterosexual lives, many with spouses and children, belies those claims.

The Torah makes a clear statement that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle or a genuine identity by severely prohibiting its conduct.

From a Torah perspective, the question whether homosexual inclinations and behaviors are changeable is extremely relevant. The concept that G-d created a human being who is unable to find happiness in a loving relationship unless he violates a biblical prohibition is neither plausible nor acceptable. G-d is loving and merciful. Struggles, and yes, difficult struggles, along with healing and personal growth are part and parcel of this world. Impossible, life long, Torah prohibited situations with no achievable solutions are not.

We emphatically reject the notion that a homosexually inclined person cannot overcome his or her inclination and desire. Behaviors are changeable. The Torah does not forbid something which is impossible to avoid. Abandoning people to lifelong loneliness and despair by denying all hope of overcoming and healing their same-sex attraction is heartlessly cruel.

The only viable course of action that is consistent with the Torah is therapy and teshuvah. The therapy consists of reinforcing the natural gender-identity of the individual by helping him or her understand and repair the emotional wounds that led to its disorientation and weakening, thus enabling the resumption and completion of the individual’s emotional development. Teshuvah is a Torah-mandated, self-motivated process of turning away from any transgression or sin and returning to G-d and one’s spiritual essence. This includes refining and reintegrating the personality and allowing it to grow in a healthy and wholesome manner.

The key point to remember is that these individuals are primarily innocent victims of childhood emotional wounds. They deserve our full love, support and encouragement in their striving towards healing. Struggling individuals who seek health and wellness should not be confused with the homosexual movement and their agenda. This distinction is crucial. It reflects the difference between what G-d asks from all of us and what He unambiguously prohibits.

Among the signers who have chosen to go public with their endorsement of the position are psychologist and author Dr. Miriam Adaham of Jerusalem; Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, president of the International Network of Orthodox Mental Health Professions; Los Angeles psychiatrist and author Dr. Miriam Grossman; Dr. Joseph Gelbfish of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Rabbi Yaakov Salomon, psychotherapist and author; Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, a vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America and dozens more.

It contradicts a statement from 2010 signed by Orthodox rabbis who believed, "Jews with homosexual orientations or same sex-attractions should be welcomed as full members of the synagogue and school community. As appropriate with regard to gender and lineage, they should participate and count ritually, be eligible for ritual synagogue honors, and generally be treated in the same fashion and under the same halakhic and hashkafic framework as any other member of the synagogue they join."

The 2010 statement also rejected the idea of therapy to heal homosexuality, but the new declaration takes the opposite position.

Monday, December 26, 2011

In a 6-1 ruling, the Pennsylvania high court overruled a county judge's decision on "judicial bypass" of parental notification for an abortion of a 17-year-old girl, thus clarifying what it takes for a minor to have an abortion without the parents' knowledge.

Abortion opponents are hoping a state Supreme Court decision clarifying how minors can get judicial approval for abortions will encourage county judges to scrutinize such requests.

The court ruled on Thursday that a 17-year-old's decision not to ask her mother's permission for an abortion was not a valid reason for Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Philip Ignelzi to deny her the procedure in March 2010.

Although the court ruled that Ignelzi improperly denied the girl's request, in part, because there was no parental notification, the justices said county judges' decisions should be given deference. Statistics on how often judges grant abortions are not available because the cases typically are sealed.

The 1982 state law states that if a pregnant girl under 18 cannot get her parents' consent, or if she does not want to seek it, a judge can authorize an abortion after determining she is "mature and capable of giving informed consent."

[The pregnant minor] applied for the judicial bypass in March 2010, saying she was three months shy of turning 18, 10 weeks pregnant, and a high school senior with average grades who planned to go to college and hoped to become a lawyer.

She told the county judge she was concerned her mother would throw her out if she learned of the pregnancy, and that she had no relationship with her father.

The high court decision also ruled that appeals courts, when reviewing county court decisions on judicial bypass requests, should determine whether a judge abused his or her discretion.

Pro-life advocates have been concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court-mandated bypass provision has become a rubber stamp process by which courts allow virtually any teenager seeking to not inform their parents to get an abortion without them knowing — as opposed to the law’s intent, which is to allow that bypass only in cases when teenagers are genuinely concerned about physical abuse if their parents find out about the pregnancy.

Although the court ruled the judge did not properly deny the girl’s request for an abortion in the specific case, Randall Wenger, an attorney who represented pro-life groups Pennsylvania Family Institute and Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, told the Pittsburgh newspaper he thinks the ruling is still helpful.

This is the first-ever review of the pro-life law by the state’s highest court and it received legal support from pro-life groups and state legislators who support the law protecting a parent’s right to be involved in their child’s decision regarding abortion.

The Pennsylvania law and others like it have already been upheld at the U.S. Supreme Court and pro-life groups argue that a Pennsylvania trial court judge applied the correct legal standard and legitimately exercised his legal authority under the statute when he rejected a minor girl’s request for a secret abortion, stating that she needed consent from at least one of her parents.

The card . . . was created for the Obama family by L.A. artist and designer Mark Matuszak. It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn't feature a Christmas tree, states: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."

[Sarah] Palin told Fox News that she found it "odd" that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." She also said that Americans are able to appreciate "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."

In the past, White House cards have varied in terms of a secular versus a Christian approach. . . .

The Obama family has also preferred a more secular approach. Last year's holiday card featured an image of a White House covered with snow, with the following greeting: "May your holiday be filled with all the simple gifts of the season, and may your new year be blessed with health and happiness."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Wearing a homosexualist T-shirt, economics teacher Jay McDowell dedicated an entire school day in 2010 to pushing the Gay Agenda at Howell, Michigan High School. When he pressed the issue with student Daniel Glowacki who replied that his Catholic faith counters the homosexual lifestyle, McDowell ordered Glowacki out of the room and threatened suspending him. The school disciplined McDowell, but now mother Sandra Glowacki has filed a federal lawsuit against the school.

The homosexual lobby has since inundated the school with hate mail for its action against the teacher.

Daniel Glowacki, 16, was kicked out of class for not participating in the school’s spirit day to support gay and lesbian rights.

Teacher Jay McDowell was wearing a shirt supporting gay teens, but demanded a student remove her Confederate flag belt buckle because it was offensive. Glowacki challenged the teacher on tolerance and was ejected from class.

The Thomas More Law Center filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit on behalf of Sandra Glowacki. It alleges teacher Jay McDowell violated her son's First Amendment rights when he removed the then-16-year-old teen, Daniel Glowacki, from class in October 2010 after the teen said he did not support homosexuality because of his religious beliefs.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for the Law Center, said . . . "This case points out the outrageous way in which homosexual activists have turned our public schools into indoctrination centers, and are seeking to eradicate all religious and moral opposition to their agenda."

Superintendent Ron Wilson said the board's policy is simple - it does not tolerate bullying by teachers or students based on gender, sexuality, et cetera.

The suit says the teacher kicked out Daniel Glowacki, 16, then a junior, from an economics class on Oct. 20, 2010, while the district was observing anti-bullying day and Spirit Day. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation encourages Americans to wear purple on Spirit Day to support LGBT youth who may feel harassed because of their sexual preference.

The lawsuit said the district allowed teachers to sell purple “Tyler’s Army” T-shirts in support of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University freshman who killed himself last year after a roommate streamed an Internet video of Clementi kissing a male student. The teacher, McDowell, wore one of the T-shirts throughout the day and devoted his classes to promoting homosexuality, the suit said.

The district suspended McDowell for one day without pay for violating district policy but eventually rescinded the penalty to settle a grievance he filed.

When Daniel Glowacki said his Catholic religion does not accept homosexuality and he could not condone the behavior, McDowell was ‘angered’ and told Daniel Glowacki that his religion was ‘wrong,’ according to the lawsuit. McDowell then ordered Daniel Glowacki to leave the classroom.”

According to the Daily News, a “second student also was ordered out of the classroom when that student raised his hand to McDowell’s question about whether anyone else did not accept homosexuality.”

Following the classroom incident, recalled a Thomas More press release, news of the case made national headlines. Lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres even got into the act when a homosexual student who had spoken up for McDowell at a school board meeting was invited to her show to talk about the case. For his appearance the homosexual student was given a $10,000 academic scholarship by a digital media company.

Homosexual activists across the country hailed McDowell for his “heroism” while branding the young Glowacki a bigot and his religiously motivated objections to homosexuality “hate” speech. Glowacki’s actions even prompted his high school to schedule a school assembly to talk about the dangers of “bullying.”

Howell Public Schools has received "vulgar and threatening" e-mails related to "misinformation" contained in a federal lawsuit alleging a student was kicked out of class for his religious beliefs.

"Many of these e-mails are vulgar and threatening," Superintendent Ron Wilson wrote in the statement. "It is ironic that the very people who say they oppose violence and bullying are using these same tactics to intimidate our elected officials and staff." [Referring to the "homosexual lobby."]

As a result of the incident, McDowell was required to take part in training related to student's First Amendment rights and the discipline remains in his personnel file.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

In an apparent "search and destroy" mission of the Gay Agenda, two California lesbians flaunted their homosexuality to a Christian who rents her spare room as a bed and breakfast, and when the homeowner indicated that she does not rent to unmarried couples, the lesbians shouted their lawsuit to the welcoming media.

Aloha Bed & Breakfast discriminated against Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford, a couple living in Long Beach, Calif., claims the lawsuit filed on behalf of the women by Lambda Legal in First Circuit Court in Honolulu.

Refusing to let the couple book a room was solely based on their sexual orientation because the owner indicated that if they were married, she would not have allowed them to stay there, said their attorney, Peter Renn of Lambda Legal’s Los Angeles office. She also would have a problem if they were an unmarried heterosexual couple, he said.

The lawsuit claims the business violated Hawaii’s public accommodation law prohibiting any inn or other establishment that provides lodging from discriminating based on sexual orientation, race, sex, gender identity or expression, religion, ancestry or disability. Lambda Legal said there are 21 states that have public accommodation laws that protect against sexual orientation discrimination.

A non-profit that describes itself as the world's largest religious civil liberties legal organization is getting involved in a discrimination lawsuit filed on Oahu Monday by a lesbian couple.

The Alliance Defense Fund has now stepped in to help defend Phyllis Young, the owner of Aloha Bed and Breakfast. The group says Young has the right to her sincerely-held religious beliefs and the right to express them.

"This lawsuit threatens those fundamental freedoms," Dale Schowengerdt, ADF legal counsel, said. "At the end of the day, no business owner should be forced to violate his or her religious beliefs because someone is offended by those beliefs."

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

A study from the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of New York Academy of Medicine found that one in 13 girls at Massachusetts health clinics aged 14 to 20 had multi-person sex, usually through coercion.

Rothman interviewed 328 females between the ages of 14 and 20 who had used a community or school-based health center to see if they had ever had sex with multiple partners.

These girls had sought help at the clinics for a variety of reasons from strep throats to sprained ankles, not just for reproductive care.

"I think one of the things going on here is that boyfriends or sex partners are forcing their female partners to watch porn and also then coercing them," Rothman said. "Whether that is through peer pressure or doing things they see in the porn, we don"t know."

A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court that Augusta State University was right to expel Jennifer Keeton, a Christian graduate student in counseling, because she believes that homosexual behavior is a choice and that sexual orientation is not fixed.

Note that the secular media (below) refers to the student's Christian beliefs as "anti-gay."

After enrolling in a graduate counseling program in fall 2009, Keeton, a devout Christian, began discussing how she wanted to engage in "conversion therapy," in which a counselor attempts to "cure" homosexuality, the [Associated Press] news service reports.

Keeton's suit alleges that she was subject to sanction because she "holds Christian ethical convictions," a violation of her constitutional right to free speech.

Augusta State University put counseling student Jennifer Keeton on academic probation in 2010 after she said it would be hard to work with gay clients.

The university said her thinking was unethical and threatened expulsion unless Keeton attended gay pride events and sensitivity training.

"[Augusta State University] faculty have promised to expel Miss Keeton from the graduate Counselor Education Program not because of poor academic showing or demonstrated deficiencies in clinical performance, but simply because she has communicated both inside and outside the classroom that she holds to Christian ethical convictions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity," Keeton said in the suit.

While the ruling may be appealed, it represents a strong victory for advocates of counseling standards that require that students be trained to treat a range of clients in supportive, nonjudgmental ways.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that Augusta State had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons to enforce its rules. The counseling program's accreditation depended in part on adhering to a code of conduct, and faculty members believed it was their responsibility to train students to work with a wide range of clients, the court found. The decision placed the counseling department's actions at Augusta State in the broader context of faculty members training professionals who must pay attention to the ethics of various fields.

[The decision reads,] "Every profession has its own ethical codes and dictates. When someone voluntarily chooses to enter a profession, he or she must comply with its rules and ethical requirements. Lawyers must present legal arguments on behalf of their clients, notwithstanding their personal views.... So too, counselors must refrain from imposing their moral and religious views on their clients."

. . . an article on the Alliance Defense Fund's website offers its views on the case (from before the time when the gag order was imposed). The article quotes David French, senior counsel, as saying: "A public university student shouldn’t be threatened with expulsion for being a Christian and refusing to publicly renounce her faith, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Simply put, the university is imposing thought reform. Abandoning one’s own religious beliefs should not be a precondition at a public university for obtaining a degree. This type of leftist zero-tolerance policy is in place at far too many universities, and it must stop. Jennifer’s only crime was to have the beliefs that she does.”

Sunday, December 18, 2011

With no warning, student athletes at Long Island's Riverhead High School were suspended for honoring Denver Broncos football hero Tim Tebow, when they mimicked the Christian quarterback's distinctive kneeling prayer position in the school hallway.

"I think if they had good intentions, then good for them for having the courage to do something different."-- Tim Tebow

Riverhead High School administrators suspended 17-year-old twins Connor and Tyler Carroll this week after they organized several "Tebowing" tributes to the NFL star in their school hallway.

Connor Carroll . . . conceded that although kneeling for Tebow has a religious connotation, their intent was simply to honor a sports hero.

Riverhead School Superintendent Nancy Carney said in a statement that the students’ actions created a potential safety hazard.

[Tebow said]: "You have to respect the position of authority and people that God’s put as authority over you, so that’s part of it, and just finding the right place and the right time to do things is part of it, too."

Tebow has made headlines for the move, a display of his devotion to his Christian faith.

Reports said that the students had been Tebowing all week, starting Monday. It was meant to be a joke, only paying homage to one of pro football's newest stars. But other students started joining in and administrators claimed it had become a disturbance. District officials reportedly told the students that the celebration was making it unsafe for students walking the hall in between classes.

The incident saw about 40 students engaging in the popular Tebowing. Only the four students, all athletes, were suspended.

The Obama administration has yanked federal Title X family planning funds from Texas for its Medicaid Women’s Health Program because a new Texas law requires participating health providers NOT “perform or promote elective abortions or affiliate with entities that perform or promote elective abortions.”

For President Obama, "job one" is ensuring the flow of tax dollars to abortionists.

The Obama administration reportedly claimed doing so would constitute a violation of the Social Security Act.

"Not applying these provisions would eliminate Medicaid beneficiaries’ ability to receive family planning services from specific providers for reasons not related to their qualifications to provide such services," the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter.

"We are committed to protecting life in Texas, and state law prohibits giving state dollars to abortion providers and affiliates -- a fact the Obama administration ignores," Perry said. "I strongly urge the administration to do the right thing and grant this waiver, so Texas women can access critical preventative health services, including breast and cervical cancer screenings, rather than making them pay the price for its pro-abortion agenda."

In one letter sent to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Monday, Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, said the state’s request to circumvent federal rules -- namely the Social Security Act -- by restricting family planning providers in the Medicaid Women’s Health Program was not acceptable. The state’s request was in keeping with lawmakers’ efforts last legislative session to try to force Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions at some of its facilities, but in none affiliated with the Women’s Health Program, out of business.

Tom Suehs, HHSC’s executive commissioner, said in a statement that his agency is disappointed with the family planning decision, “which is inconsistent with federal law that gives states the authority to establish qualifications for Medicaid providers.”

Earlier this year, Texas yanked about $64 million in funding from Planned Parenthood and directed the funds to agencies that do not do abortions. In conjunction with that, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission submitted a request to the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services to continue its family planning program without funding Planned Parenthood or other abortion agencies.

As it has in Indiana and New Hampshire, the Obama administration denied the request . . .

Joe Pojman, the director of Texas Alliance for Life [said] “We believe the State of Texas has every right to deny millions of tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, which is what the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry has chosen to do. Senate Bill 7, passed last summer during a special legislative session, prohibits Medicaid tax dollars under the Women’s Health Program from going to abortion providers and their affiliated organizations.”

“This bill excludes several dozen Planned Parenthood sites from the Women’s Health Program, but it does not exclude any other hundreds of Women’s Health Program providers in Texas. Many of the other providers offer comprehensive primary and preventative care to low-income women in addition to family planning, which Planned Parenthood is unable or unwilling to provide,” he continued. “By threatening to cancel the Women’s Health Program in Texas, the Obama Administration is showing it would sooner deny tens of millions of dollars of medical services to low-income women rather than allow the State of Texas to cut off tax funding to Planned Parenthood.”

The Texas de-funding has already resulted in the closing of 12 Planned Parenthood centers.

The Susan B. Anthony List today criticized the Obama Administration for what it calls “its latest assault on the right of states—this time Texas—to pass legislation that would defund abortion-provider Planned Parenthood of taxpayer funding.”

“President Obama has proven time and again that he will exert whatever force necessary to ensure that his abortion ally Planned Parenthood continues to receive taxpayer subsidies,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “This includes brazenly defying the will of states to make their own decisions as to where they send taxpayer funding. Once again the most pro-abortion President in our country’s history has shown his allegiance to Planned Parenthood is unwavering.”

“Including New Hampshire, eight states have successfully cut Planned Parenthood’s funding to the tune of nearly $60.4 million dollars. . . . ” she added.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Wisconsin Department of Health and Services plans to pull $130,000 in funding from Planned Parenthood in favor of funding "well woman care" through other organizations that do not perform abortions. In response, Planned Parenthood advocates have perpetuated a deceptive media campaign to imply that they provide myriad breast cancer prevention, when in fact they do not.

. . . Governor Scott Walker, who is pro-life, says women can get the same screening help from legitimate medical providers that do not also kill and injure women and children in abortions. He said the program is not being eliminated, just modified so abortion centers don’t receive taxpayer funding.

“The program is still in place. The Well Woman, in particular to make sure women have access to exams for cancer and other things, is funding. It’s in place. We’re just not contracting with Planned Parenthood to do that,” Governor Walker said.

A bill Walker signed redirects $1 million in state and federal family planning funds away from Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. In 2010 Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin received more than $18 million in federal and state family planning funds that it claims has reduced abortions. However, the abortion business did 5,439 abortions in 2009, a 56% increase from 2008.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains (PPRM) has initiated a sex-inquiry text-messaging service for teens called In Case You're Curious (ICYC), promising to train the kids in sexual activity using their favorite means of communication. However, according to the PPRM website, it appears that the purpose is really to bring the kids into the Planned Parenthood clinic for services, such as $abortion$.

Alison Macklin, Director of Community Education for PPRM, says teens really have a lot of questions about their own bodies.

Planned Parenthood says once a teen is signed up for ICYC, there is no way to “unsign-up” and there is no age requirement since everything is done anonymously. However, PPRM encourages teens to talk with their parents or a trusted adult about sex or their sexual health.

An offshoot of the Denver Teen Pregnancy Prevention Partnership, which began in Denver Public Schools in 2007, ICYC fell under the auspices of Planned Parenthood last year.

In the program, teens text their questions, which are parsed by Planned Parenthood staff. The responses — limited to 160 characters — are sent within 24 hours.

"We're aware of it," said Keith Mason, president of Denver-based Personhood USA, which last month filed new language for a proposed constitutional amendment to end abortions in Colorado. "It's just another extension of their abortion-marketing plan. Just like restaurants use texts to give out coupons, this is their way of driving young people to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion chain in America."

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Stephen Bloom, an elitist journalism professor, in a scathing article, characterizes the population of Iowa as a mix of uneducated, unambitious, evangelical Christian, white, elderly people waiting to die who do not warrant the unrivaled, first-in-line opportunity to choose the next American president.

[It's about] University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom, whose article for The Atlantic magazine's website painted Iowans as uneducated Jesus freaks who love hunting and don't deserve the political clout they will exercise Jan. 3.

In the article, he paints Iowa's cities and rural areas as economic wastelands with little culture. He calls the state politically schizophrenic with Republicans living west of Des Moines and Democrats to the east. He describes rural areas as hotbeds for suicide and filled with the uneducated, the elderly and meth addicts. He calls the Mississippi River "commercially irrelevant" and describes cities along it as "some of the skuzziest" he'd ever seen.

Bloom, who is Jewish, complains that Iowans constantly talk about Jesus and hunting. "That's the place that may very well determine the next U.S. president," Bloom, a New Jersey native who came to Iowa in the early 1990s from San Francisco, concludes.

"The saddest part of all of this is he's a journalism professor for crying out loud!" added Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, a Republican. "This is a condescending piece that I'm ashamed to say was funded by my constituents' tax dollars."

Throughout the piece, Bloom shares what he says he has learned through two decades of talking with and interviewing Iowans across the state; including their three hobbies: hunting, fishing and watching the Iowa Hawkeyes; its homogenous population that is “as white as the milk the millions of Holstein cows here produce,” and the makeup of its rural residents, who “are often the elderly waiting to die, those too timid to peer around the bend for better opportunities, an assortment of waste-oids and meth addicts with pale skin and rotted teeth...”

“It seems to be written by a liberal elitist snob who can’t see anything good about Iowa,” said Tim Hagle, an associate professor of political science at UI. “It’s sad that this is somebody who the Iowa taxpayers have been funding for some time.”

“...Today, Keokuk is a depressed, crime-infested slum town,” Bloom wrote. “Almost every other Mississippi river town is the same; they’re some of the skuzziest cities I’ve ever been to, and that’s saying something.”

. . . Bloom, a tenured professor of journalism and mass communication, has the right to express his opinion about any topic, [UI officials] said.

Days after “Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life” first appeared Friday on the website of The Atlantic, reactions continued to consume Facebook news feeds, send bloggers to their keyboards and drive online discussions. It was the most-viewed story on the site for two days running.

It’s generated enough discussion and dissent that another roundup piece was posted, highlighting the conversation it has provoked, said Garance Franke-Ruta, senior editor at The Atlantic. The site also has received written response pieces, including some from Iowans, that editors are considering how to handle, she said.

“We don’t see his piece as the final word on this state or even our final word on this story,” said Franke-Ruta, the editor on the article.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Trying to counter the imminent demise of the liberal mainstream media, the so-called News Literacy Project (NLP) has infiltrated 21 inner-city and nearby schools in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Chicago with the goal of teaching children to discount Internet-based news information from non-liberal sources.

“I used to read the Daily News or the Post. Now I read The New York Times.”-- Raquel Monje, high school senior indoctrinated by the NLP at Manhattan’s Facing History School

The news-literacy movement has the potential to begin to rewrite the unflattering narratives about the press that have become so pervasive that we’ve nearly stopped questioning them—to remove the derogatory undertone from the phrase “mainstream media.” It has the potential to push back against the hijacking of the journalistic reputation—not only by a sustained and strategic smear campaign on the part of the political right (“the liberal media”), but also on the part of the political left (“the corporate media”).

JEFFREY BROWN, PBS Newshour: How can young people learn to be better consumers of news and information?

COLIN O'BRIEN, News Literacy Project: You want news sources that are transparent. You want to be able to see who is doing the reporting, see what their agenda is, see who funds them, see if they are, in fact, a credible source or not.

ALAN MILLER, News Literacy Project: There is so much potential here for misinformation, for propaganda, for spin, all of the myriad sources that are out there. More and more of, the onus is shifting to the consumer.

JEFFREY BROWN: And a slew of recent studies supports the notion that young people seek out traditional news sources less and less and that they have a difficult time knowing how to judge the legitimacy of the information that does come at them.

In response, the News Literacy Project, funded by a combination of foundations, corporations and individuals, develops lesson plans for teachers . . .

JEFFREY BROWN: The program also brings journalists into the classroom to run workshops.

JEFFREY BROWN: . . . the idea of making this into a national program got a recent boost from Michael Copps, a member of the Federal Communications Commission.

MICHAEL COPPS, FCC: And we need to focus on bringing all these together in the public sector and in the private sector to develop an online news literacy curriculum that can be made available across the nation. This can be a powerful antidote to the dumbing down of our civic dialogue that has taken place.

JEFFREY BROWN: To further the effort, the News Literacy Project and the American Library Association are launching workshops around the country to make high school students better media watchdogs, with a specific focus on the 2012 political campaign.

With so many of America's churches separated from Biblical Christianity, it's not surprising that elitist atheist/agnostic scientists join churches with their family to satisfy their need for community and to rear their children with a moral compass.

Some U.S. scientists who are atheists and have children are involved in religious institutions for social and personal reasons, researchers say.

Principal investigator Elaine Howard Ecklund of Rice University and colleagues at the University at Buffalo found 17 percent of atheists with children said they attended a religious service more than once in the past year.

In addition, some atheist scientists want their children to know about different religions so their children can make informed decisions about their own religious preferences.

The study, by sociologists Elaine Howard Ecklund of Rice and Kristen Schultz Lee of the University at Buffalo, found that many atheists want their children exposed to religion so that they can make up their own minds on what to believe. In addition, church may provide a better understanding of morality and ethics, and occasionally attending services may ease the conflict between spouses who disagree over the value of religion to their children, the study contends.

The research, published in the December issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, was based on in-depth interviews with 275 scientists at 21 “elite” research universities in the United States. Sixty-one percent of the participants described themselves as either atheists or agnostics, and 17 percent of the non-believers had attended church more than once in the past year.

Research I conducted with sociologist Kristen Schultz Lee (University at Buffalo, SUNY) showed just how tightly linked religion and family are in the United States--so much so that even some of society's least religious people find it important to expose their children to different religious choices. Our research challenges the assumption that parents who engage in religious socialization always hold religious beliefs themselves.

The atheist scientists interviewed cited personal and social reasons for introducing and integrating religious traditions and institutions into their children's lives.

Their reasons include:

• Scientific identity - Study participants wish to expose their children to all sources of knowledge (including religion) and allow them to make their own, informed choices about a religious identity.

• Spousal influence - Study participants are involved in a religious institution because of influence from their spouse or partner.

• Desire for community - Study participants want a sense of community (moral or otherwise), even if they do not personally hold religious beliefs.

Dr. Billy McCormack of the Christian Coalition saw the study as showing that atheist academics see church as a positive moral environment.

“Atheists understand that people who attend church are more likely to be persons of high moral character and would prefer their children experience this more positive environment,” said McCormack in an interview with CP.

“Academics are dogmatic as a rule. Their usual arrogance, subtle or pronounced, makes them less likely than the general public atheists to allow their children to be exposed to truth with which they strongly disagree,” said McCormack.

Through in-depth interviews with scientists at elite academic institutions—those particularly likely to have no firm belief in God—we provide insight into the motives scientists who are not religious have for joining a religious group and the struggle faced by these individuals in reconciling personal beliefs with what they consider the best interests of their families. Narratives stress the use of resources from identities as scientists to provide their children with religious choices consistent with science and in negotiating spousal influence and a desire for community. Findings expand the religious socialization and identities literatures by widening the range of understanding of the strategies parents utilize to interface with religious communities as well as lead to more nuanced public understanding of how atheist and agnostic scientists relate to religious communities.